


Sling

by Inkandquills, writersstudy



Series: Inktober 2019 [19]
Category: Block B
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Blood, Domestic Violence, Extortion, Gangs, Gen, Kidnapping, Knives, Major Character Injury, Mentions of Woo Jiho | Zico, Violence, faking an injury, in ch 1, in ch 2, social worker yukwon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-24 16:07:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21102218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkandquills/pseuds/Inkandquills, https://archiveofourown.org/users/writersstudy/pseuds/writersstudy
Summary: Inktober 2019, Day Nineteen!Prompt: SlingGroup: Block BPairing: Yukwon/Kyung (platonic)A: All Yukwon wants is to help.M: Kyung should have never let his guard down.[[PLEASE NOTE THAT WE, THE AUTHORS, HAVE NOT GIVEN PERMISSION FOR THIS WORK TO BE RE-POSTED ANYWHERE EXCEPT DIRECTLY ON AO3. IF YOU SEE THIS WORK ANYWHERE ELSE, PLEASE REPORT IT FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND NOTIFY US AT LIVING.LENIENTLY@GMAIL.COM. THANK YOU.]]





	1. Ashlee

Yukwon’s tongue clicked as he looked at the file in front of him. The man had shown up in the ER in the early hours of the morning, bleeding and bruised. The file on Yukwon’s desk detailed extensive facial and torso contusions, a few cracked ribs, a broken arm, a dislocated shoulder, and a very obvious handprint on the man’s neck. He’d so far been refusing to give his name, which led Yukwon to assume that whoever had beat him this badly was either his emergency contact or the name on his insurance. It was estimated that he was in his mid-twenties, around Yukwon’s own age. With a heavy sigh, he closed the file and stood up, heading for the elevator.

“I’m not talkin’ to no cops,” the man said as soon as Yukwon walked into the room.

“That’s fine,” Yukwon replied. He closed the door and took a seat in the bedside chair. 

“My name is Kim Yukwon; I’m a social worker for the hospital,” he explained, “it’s my job to make sure that you stay safe once the hospital discharges you. However, you should know that I am a mandated reporter and that anything you tell me in regards to abuse or assault, I’m required to report.” The man huffed out a laugh, grimacing as his arm was jostled in its sling.

“I ain’t tellin’ you my name, or his,” he said.

“That’s fine,” Yukwon said, “can you tell me about him?”

“I jus’ said I wouldn’t!” the man insisted.

“I know,” Yukwon said, “I don’t need his name. Can you tell me about the relationship you have with him? Is he your brother maybe? Or a boyfriend? You can be candid with me. This is all confidential except for the things that trigger a report.” The man was quiet, clearly disgruntled, and Yukwon chose to wait out the silence.

“He’s my...roommate,” the man finally grumbled.

“A roommate that you have sex with?” Yukwon guessed. Cue more grumbling.

“If I say he’s my boyfriend, y’all will send me right back to him,” the man muttered.

“I won’t,” Yukwon said simply, “and the hospital can’t either, since they aren’t privy to any of this conversation. I’m gay too, if that helps.” It clearly did, as the man visibly relaxed.

“We’ve been dating for a couple of years,” he revealed, “he didn’t used to be like this. He was really sweet and kind when we first got together, but then he lost his job and started hanging out with old friends again and they got him back into drinking a lot and here we are.” Yukwon hummed in both understanding and sympathy.

“Is he an alcoholic?” he asked. The man nodded.

“He was sober,” he said, “for pretty long too. Went to the meetings and everything. His old friends dragged him off the wagon and he was all too willing to go.”

“When he drinks, is he usually this violent with you?” Yukwon asked gently, “or was there something that triggered his anger yesterday?” The man shrugged.

“He ain’t beatin’ me every day, but he’ll push me around some, get mad if the dishes aren’t done and dinner ain’t cooked, y’know,” he said, “but yesterday...I ain’t never seen him angry like that before. I have no idea why he was so mad, but I knew if I stayed, he’d kill me, so here I am.”

“Well, I’m glad you made that decision,” Yukwon said, “let’s talk about your discharge. The doctors are looking at probably tomorrow afternoon, so long as you don’t rapidly decline before that. Do you have somewhere to go that you know will be safe?” The man stared at his hands for a minute before shaking his head.

“He’d come lookin’ for me, I know he would,” he said, “and he knows where all my friends live.” 

“Okay,” Yukwon said, “that’s okay. There’s a few shelters around the city for battered individuals like yourself, if you would be interested in trying out one of those. They have social workers that can help you find permanent housing and get restraining orders and things like that.”

“Can I think it over?” the man asked, looking up at Yukwon, who smiled and nodded.

“Of course,” he said, “I’ll be heading home in an hour or so, but I’ll be back in the morning, so you can ask a nurse to page me once you’ve made a decision.” The man nodded in understanding and Yukwon wished him a good night before taking his leave.

When Yukwon arrived to work the next morning, he made a stop on his way up to his office to check on the man. To his surprise, the room was empty when he arrived.

“The man in that room,” he asked a nurse, pointing to the door, “the John Doe, where did he get moved to?” The nurse typed into her computer, her eyebrows furrowing. 

“It says here he requested a discharge against medical advice,” she said, “so, home, I assume.” Yukwon cursed internally. It always hurt, losing a patient back to their situation, but he hadn’t wanted to spook the man any more than he was already spooked.

“If he ends up here again, please page me,” he requested before heading up to his office. He called a couple of local battered shelters, providing them with a description and asking them to call him if the man came through. Technically, it was beyond the boundaries of his job, but Yukwon couldn’t help it. He saw so much of himself in the man. It was his college relationship that had caused him to become a social worker in the first place, after a hospital social worker had helped him and saved his life. He wished he had some way of knowing that the man was okay, but this was all he could do for now.

A few weeks later, Yukwon still hadn’t heard a peep. The man hadn’t been through any of the shelters, nor had he come back to the hospital. He tried to have hope that the man had managed to escape and was safe now, but he knew the reality was that he was probably still stuck in the same abusive situation.

“Hey, Kwon,” his coworker Taeil said, poking his head into Yukwon’s office, “I just sent you an article, I thought you might be interested.” Yukwon rolled over to his computer, opening up Taeil’s most recent email. 

“Thanks, hyung,” he called after the older man’s retreating back.

**[BREAKING] Killer convicted in landmark case for queer protections**

Woo Jiho, 27, was convicted Thursday of aggravated assault and battery and murder in the first degree in the death of his boyfriend, Park Kyung. Police were called to Woo and Park’s shared apartment on October 3 after a neighbor reported hearing threats and screaming. Woo was arrested and detained after officers found him beating Park. Park, who was unconscious when police arrived, was pronounced dead at the hospital. The cause of death was ruled to be blunt force trauma. 

This conviction sets an incredible precedent for same-sex couples moving forward.

“The murder conviction was never really a question,” said chief prosecutor Ahn Jaehyo, “but for [Woo] to be convicted on the assault charge is basically the judge determining that same-sex partners have the same protections under the law that opposite-sex couples do and that includes protections against domestic violence and abuse. It’s the first step toward full equality for the LGBTQ+ community.”

Woo was sentenced to life in prison, plus fifteen years. 

The Korean Queer Legal Fund is accepting donations in the name and memory of Park Kyung.

Yukwon’s heart felt like it was lodged in his throat. There, at the bottom of the article, was a picture of Park Kyung. It was the very same man that he’d been looking for. Yukwon had hoped and prayed that Kyung had escaped, that he was happy and free somewhere else, but that clearly hadn’t been the case. A glance at the clock told him that it was nearly time to head home, so he decided to go a little early. On his way out, Taeil gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. 

Yukwon felt like he was moving on autopilot. He had barely known Park Kyung, had only spoken to him for a matter of fifteen minutes, but his death hurt so much. Perhaps it was the reminder that that had nearly been himself five years earlier. Either way, Yukwon found himself simply going home and climbing into bed, keeping himself in the dark. Once he was safely cocooned in bed, he let himself cry.

He cried for Park Kyung. He cried for all the names and files that had slid across his desk, all the people that he had no idea if they were still safe or not. He cried for himself, for the younger Yukwon who had had stars in his eyes and bruises on his lips for years before finally waking up. He cried in fear of the man who hurt him, who was still out there somewhere, most likely hurting others. He cried in sorrow for the ones he couldn’t save, and in joy for the ones he could. 

And when Yukwon was all cried out, he got up and went back to work with a renewed vigor for his job. He wouldn’t let Park Kyung happen again.


	2. Michelle

Kyung loved fall weather. It was cool enough that his walk home from work wasn’t spent baking in the hot sun, but it also wasn’t cold enough that he would shiver the whole way home. He encountered all sorts of people on his walks and his favorites were always the people who let him pet their dogs. Today however he caught sight of a man on the opposite side of the street struggling to carry two large bags of groceries. Upon further inspect Kyung noticed that he had a sling on his right arm that was making everything more difficult. He wasn’t in a hurry to get home so he decided to offer some help. After checking to make sure no cars were coming, he jogged across the street.

“Hey, do you want some help with those?” he asked carefully. As he got a little closer he realized that the man was around his age. Hopefully he didn’t offend him. 

“Yeah, that would be amazing. Thank you,” the man replied with a warm smile, “I’m parked right up here.” He gestured with his chin to a small sedan parked at the end of the street.

“Not a problem at all. I was just on my way home and thought I’d offer some help. I’m sure it’s not easy managing with that thing,” Kyung said politely. He took what looked like the heavier of the two bags and followed the man down the street. 

“No, definitely not,” the man replied with a laugh, “but it should be coming off soon.”

“What happened?” Kyung asked, “if you don’t mind me asking.”

“I fell at work and broke my shoulder. It was all a big miscommunication but what are you gonna do,” the man replied with a shrug. Kyung winced in sympathy.

“Damn, man, I’m sorry,” he said.

“Eh, shit happens,” the man said, “my cars right here. It should be unlocked already. You can just put stuff on the back seat.” Kyung pulled open the back door of the silver car and carefully set down the first bag of groceries.

“Alright I have to ask. You look so familiar I feel like I know you from somewhere,” the man said, “what’s your name?”

“Park Kyung,” he replied, standing up and turning around to take the second bag. He studied the man’s face for a moment but nothing was coming to mind.

“I’m sorry but I’m not really sure,” he said apologetically. He grabbed the second bag and turned back to put it in the car.

“You should be all set tho-” Kyung got cut off when something heavy slammed into the back of his head. He fell forward onto the back seat of the car with a yelp. His head was spinning and he barely registered the slam of the door and the car start moving. He tried desperately to sit up but his limbs felt heavy and he couldn’t fight the dizziness anymore.

When Kyung woke up, he blearily blinked his eyes opened and looked around. His vision was blurry but he didn’t need to see to realize he was strapped down by his wrists and ankles to a heavy wooden chair. As his vision began to clear, he noticed two masked men standing at the opposite end of the room. 

“Where am I? What’s going on? Who are you?” Kyung asked. Or at least he tried to. His eyes widened when garbled nonsense fell from his lips instead of the sentences he was trying to say.

“You did a good job on him, Kwonnie,” the taller of the two men said, “saves us having to gag him.” He stalked across the room and grabbed Kyung roughly by the hair and jerked his head up.

“You sure this is the right guy?” the man asked accusingly.

“Of course, I’m sure,” the man affectionately called Kwonnie responded, “Park Kyung. I made sure before I took him.” Kyung’s eyes widened. He recognized that voice. It was the man with the sling that he had helped with his groceries. He stood against the back wall, arms crossed over his chest, and no sling in sight. It was all a ruse. Kyung couldn’t believe he had fallen for something like this.

“Please, what do you want from me?” he slurred.

“I’m sorry? You need to speak clearly, I can’t understand you,” the man still holding his hair sneered, “boss is gonna love this.” He let go of Kyung’s hair, letting his head fall forward suddenly.

“Keep an eye on him and I’ll send Boss down when he’s a little more...coherent,” he said before taking his leave. Kyung picked his head up and stared at his kidnapper. His vision was still blurry so he couldn’t make out his face, especially with the mask on. 

“Why...why’d you do this to me?” he asked, voice barely above a whisper. He received no answer in reply and was left to simply hang his head. The searing pain in the back of his head was not helping his vision. And it certainly wasn’t helping his focus either. He was so distracted that he didn’t notice the man walking towards him. Kyung didn’t remember passing out again after he was punched in the eye until he was woken up abruptly with a bucket of cold water thrown in his face. He gasped suddenly, unintentionally breathing in some of the water. He coughed violently trying to clear his airways.

“Oh good, he’s finally awake,” a new voice said. Kyung turned his head up, still trying to catch his breath, to look at the new man who joined him. Judging by the way he was dressed, he was the boss the other men had mentioned. The man was shorter than the other two and his hands and neck were covered in intricate tattoos. 

“That’s quite the shiner you got there,” the boss commented. 

“Why am I here?” Kyung asked hoarsely, ignoring the comment. His speech wasn’t slurred but he could still barely speak. This time he received a response to his question: a sharp slap across the cheek.

“I’ll be asking the questions and I highly recommend you answer them,” the boss threatened. Kyung whimpered in reply. He had been so careful; how did he end up in this position?

“Now, I’m going to cut to the chase because my time is worth too much to be wasted on you,” the boss began, pulling out a knife and flipping it open to emphasize his point, “where is Pyo Jihoon?” Kyung sucked in a breath. That was a name he hadn’t heard in a long time.

“I don’t know,” he replied honestly, “I haven’t talked to him in years.” 

“Wrong answer,” the boss snarled. With a snap of his wrist, he sliced a deep gash in Kyung’s right cheek.

“Hyung, we have his phone here,” the tallest of the men said, stepping forward with the damaged device.

“And have you broken into it?” the boss asked. 

“Not yet,” the man replied. He stepped forward and grabbed one of Kyung’s hands. Kyung tried to pull his hand away and curl his fist so the man couldn’t use his fingerprint to access his phone but he wasn’t strong enough. The man tried each of his fingers and switched to the other side when it didn’t work. He was about to try Kyung’s thumb and in a last ditch effort to distract him, Kyung spit in his face. That earned him a slap on the cheek with the gash in it so hard that he his vision went fuzzy. Before he could try spitting again, a gag was slipped into his mouth and his head was pulled back against the chair. The man grabbed his hand and used his thumb to unlock the phone. He pulled away with a nasty smirk.

“Excellent, Minhyuk. Have Yukwon go through it and see what messages he can pull. You can stay with our...guest and get him to talk,” the boss replied.

“Aye, aye, captain,” Minhyuk replied. He passed the phone off to Yukwon before turning his attention back to Kyung. The two shorter men left the room, not before the boss whispered some more instructions to Minhyuk. 

“Where’s your boss, huh? Taeil hyung scared him into hiding?” Minhyuk taunted. He walked towards the chair and ripped the gag out of Kyung’s mouth. He kicked the prisoner hard in the kneecap earning himself a pain yell.

“He’s dead,” Kyung snapped. That response earned him a punch in the gut that got the wind knocked out of him. The blood from the gash continued to run down his cheek and mix with the saliva that dripped from the corners of his mouth. 

“Oh I’m sorry, did I hit a soft spot? Your boss is dead and little old Jihoonie’s not here to save you this time. But I’m sure he’s going to come running when he figures out we have you,” Minhyuk continued.

“He was in Japan last I knew but I haven’t talked to him in years,” Kyung growled, “keeping me here is a waste of both of our time.” 

“You talk too easily,” Minhyuk commented. He turned around when the door swung open and Yukwon stepped back into the room.

“I found Jihoon’s number. And there’s messages sent from a few days ago so I know its updated,” the younger man reported. Minhyuk smiled widely.

“I think we should send him a little message of our own. We haven’t seen him in a while and I’m sure he’s worried about where you are,” he said gleefully. 

“No, he won’t come. He’s smarter than that,” Kyung protested. He was quickly silenced as the gag was shoved back in his mouth. Minhyuk took the phone from Yukwon and turned the video on and pressing record. Kyung hadn’t realized how bad he looked until he saw himself in the phone. His face was still gushing blood and his eyes was bruised and swollen. He was in pain from all the hits and kicks and knew it would be hell when he had to get up to move. His shirt was completely stained with no hope of saving it. He barely registered what Minhyuk was saying, too busy focusing on the knife that was pressed against his neck.

“If you ever want to see you lover boy again, I suggest you hurry here with the money you owe us. I’d hate to see us have to kill Kyung for collateral,” Minhyuk finished. To prove he wasn’t messing around this time, he slid the knife along Kyung’s throat, drawing more blood. He clicked the video off and tossed the phone back to Yukwon.

“Send that message to Jihoon and bring me my hammer. I wanna make Kyung presentable for when his knight in shining armor shows up,” Minhyuk said with a wicked smirk. Kyung pulled against his restraints and the gag but they wouldn’t budge. All he could muster was a weak growl that wasn’t nearly as threatening as he had hoped it would be. He glanced at Yukwon and caught the man’s eyes, just before he turned away. He could have sworn he saw a flash of remorse but his vision still wasn’t clear.


End file.
